After months seeking a new opportunity with a major league team, former New York Mets star Matt Harvey signed a minor league deal with the rebuilding Kansas City Royals. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported last week that a deal between the two parties was close.
According to Tuesday’s reports, the pact is worth about a prorated $575,000 if Harvey is in the major leagues, and there are more bonuses to be met, specifically for games started and relief appearances.
The Royals will assign the former Mets hurler and rotation anchor to their alternate training site. At this point in his career, the righty is viewed as a lottery ticket given that he hasn’t been particularly effective in years. He is currently 31 years old.
Last season, Harvey pitched with the Los Angeles Angels but struggled to the tune of a 7.09 ERA in 12 starts.
A derailed career with the Mets
His stay with the New York Mets came to an abrupt end in May 2018 when the team designated him for assignment. His seasonal ERAs since the 2016 season are 4.86, 6.70, 4.94 and 7.09.
Last year’s struggles were notorious. He could only muster 5.88 K/9 and had 4.37 BB/9, not to mention that he had a clear home run problem (1.96 per each nine innings.) He hit rock bottom when it comes to fastball velocity as well, checking in at 93.6 according to Fangraphs.
Injuries, most notably thoracic outlet surgery, derailed what looked to be a fantastic career with the Mets. From 2012 to 2015, he was among the best pitchers in baseball. In 2012, he had a 2.73 ERA in 59.1 frames. In 2013, he pitched 178.1 innings of 2.27 ERA (with a jaw-dropping 2.00 FIP.) Harvey missed the 2014 season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned to a 2.71 ERA in 2015.
The Royals will most likely work with Harvey to fix him mechanically and later flip him to a contender looking for a useful arm, provided he is healthy.